Habeas Corpus and DWI

By
The Wilder Firm
|February 20, 2016

One of the oldest and most important tools under the law is a writ of
Habeas Corpus. Literally translated as “you should have the body,” the writ
or application to the court of Habeas Corpus requires the court to rule
on whether the state is rightly detaining someone or not. Throughout history,
the writ of Habeas Corpus has helped people get a just ruling on whether
the state has a right to keep them in jail.

When a person is convicted and jailed for a DWI offense, the writ of Habeas
Corpus applies to them, as well. There are many different avenues an inmate
can take to file a writ of Habeas Corpus. Most of these petitions are
based on the claim that the constitutional rights of a person were violated
in the process of getting convicted, and should therefore not be legally
in jail or prison.

Texas Court Dismisses Habeas Corpus Appeal for DWI Convict

This is what happened recently in a
Texas case in which a man convicted of DWI appealed to the courts with a writ of
Habeas Corpus based on three claims he made. According to him, during
his trial, the state’s witnesses were untruthful with their testimony
and deprived him of due process of law. He also claimed that the judge
was biased against him, based on comments the judge made during the trial.
Both of these issues were not appealable under a writ of Habeas Corpus
because they were direct appeal issues.

For his third claim, the man convicted of DWI argued to the court that
his right to effective assistance of counsel was violated, and therefore
he was wrongly being detained by the state. Under the
Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a person accused and tried for most crimes has a right to an attorney,
and this includes for those accused of DWI. This right extends to include
the right to effective assistance of counsel in a case.

If a an attorney falls below the standard of giving effective assistance
of counsel during a case, the convicted person can appeal based on his
or her Sixth Amendment right being violated. This is a difficult standard
to prove. In most cases the court will defer to the judgment and decisions
made by an attorney in a case, no matter what the circumstances or how
poor the representation actually was.

That is what happened in this case. The man convicted of DWI made several
arguments to the court about why his lawyer fell below the standard required
to render effective assistance of counsel. But he was not successful because
he could not show that his lawyer’s conduct fell below an objective
standard of reasonable representation, and that he would have won his
case, but for the lawyer’s mistakes. So, the writ of Habeas Corpus
was denied.

Choosing the Right Legal Team for Your DWI Case

This case illustrates how important it is for those accused of DWI to choose
the right DWI defense team. Every lawyer in every case brings their own
strengths and weaknesses to a case, so you want an attorney representing
you who has the experience and talent needed to successfully defend you
in court. At The Wilder DWI Defense Firm our name says it all. We are
dedicated to ensuring that you get the best possible result in your case.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.